The Smashwords Style Guide.

By Mark c.o.ker

INTRODUCTION.

About this Guide: This guide helps Smashwords authors and publishers format their ebooks for Smashwords. Don't upload your books to Smashwords until you have carefully read and implemented the recommendations in this Guide.

The Style Guide is written for non-techies. It presents simple, step by step tips to help you format your ebook for the best possible presentation across all ebook formats and devices. It's required reading if you want your ebook accepted into the Smashwords Premium Catalog for distribution to major online ebook retailers such as Apple, Barnes & n.o.ble, Sony, Kobo, Diesel and Amazon. for distribution to major online ebook retailers such as Apple, Barnes & n.o.ble, Sony, Kobo, Diesel and Amazon.

If you don't have the patience, time or skills to properly format your masterpiece per these requirements, consider hiring someone. Several Smashwords authors have volunteered to provide low-cost Smashwords Style Guide formatting services for around $25/hr and up. If you would like a reference (we don't earn a referral fee), contact me, Mark c.o.ker for my private list. Please note: if you utilize one of these formatting providers, remember you're hiring them, not Smashwords. By using them you will not receive any preferential customer support or fast-tracking for the Premium Catalog.

Below are two examples of well-formatted Smashwords books. You can download the free RTF which you can open and view in your word processor.

1. Jigglers by Gerald Weinberg - http://www.smashwords.com/books/download/22171/3/386145/jigglers-aremac-a-century-later.rtf2. The Unsuspecting Mage: The Morcyth Saga Book One by Brian S. Pratt - https://www.smashwords.com/books/download/1444/3/null/0/0/the-unsuspecting-mage-the-morcyth-saga-book-one.rtf This Smashwords Style Guide is a living doc.u.ment. As you learn formatting tips not presented in this guide, please forward them to Mark c.o.ker at first initial second initial at smashwords dot com.

What Smashwords Publishes, What We Don't Publish Smashwords publishes only original and legal works, direct from the author or the exclusive digital publisher. We do not publish public domain books unless you are the original author. We also don't publish incomplete or partial books, or books that appear elsewhere on the Internet under other authors' names, as is common with Private Label Rights scams. If you write erotica, all your characters should be adults. And finally, we strongly discourage any book that advocates get-rich-quick "systems" for making money on the Internet. Smashwords is a serious publishing service for serious writers only.

Five Common Formatting Mistakes to Avoid: 1. Improper Indents - Don't use tabs or s.p.a.ce bar s.p.a.ces for paragraph indents (instead, code your paragraph style to define a special first line paragraph indent, or, use the ruler bar indent: see step # 9 below) Don't use tabs or s.p.a.ce bar s.p.a.ces for paragraph indents (instead, code your paragraph style to define a special first line paragraph indent, or, use the ruler bar indent: see step # 9 below) 2. Repeating paragraph returns - Never use more than four consecutive paragraph returns to arrange text on the page (this creates blank ebook pages on small-screened e-reading devices) Never use more than four consecutive paragraph returns to arrange text on the page (this creates blank ebook pages on small-screened e-reading devices) 3. Improper paragraph separation - Paragraphs require Paragraphs require either either first line paragraph indents first line paragraph indents or or the block paragraph method. Otherwise your paragraphs run together and become unreadable. Use one or the other (indents are best for fiction and much non-fiction, blocks are usually only for non-fiction), but don't use both. If you're aiming for the block style, the block paragraph method. Otherwise your paragraphs run together and become unreadable. Use one or the other (indents are best for fiction and much non-fiction, blocks are usually only for non-fiction), but don't use both. If you're aiming for the block style, do not add paragraph returns between paragraphs on empty lines do not add paragraph returns between paragraphs on empty lines (to create the blank line). Instead, modify your paragraph style to add 6 pt trailing s.p.a.ce at the end of the paragraph. (to create the blank line). Instead, modify your paragraph style to add 6 pt trailing s.p.a.ce at the end of the paragraph.

4. Font and style mistakes - Don't use fancy non-standard fonts, colored fonts (colors often disappear on some e-reading devices), kerning, large font sizes over 16pt, and don't go overboard with multiple paragraph styles (makes your ebook look ugly, and compounds odds of unexpected problems) Don't use fancy non-standard fonts, colored fonts (colors often disappear on some e-reading devices), kerning, large font sizes over 16pt, and don't go overboard with multiple paragraph styles (makes your ebook look ugly, and compounds odds of unexpected problems) 5. Copyright page mistakes - Don't forget to include the required "front matter" (required for acceptance into the Premium Catalog), described in tip 21b below. Don't forget to include the required "front matter" (required for acceptance into the Premium Catalog), described in tip 21b below.

How Smashwords Publishes Books: After you carefully implement the formatting instructions in this Guide, your book is ready to upload and publish to Smashwords. Simply click "Publish" from any Smashwords web page and follow the instructions to upload your book.

Smashwords takes your original Microsoft Word source file, usually in .doc format, and converts it into multiple ebook formats such as .EPUB, PDF. .RTF, .PDB, .MOBI, LRF and TXT, as well as into online HTML and Javascript formats. By publishing in multiple formats, your book will be readable on any e-reading device, including the Amazon Kindle, Apple iPads, personal computers, the iPhone (via the popular Stanza e-reader app), Sony Reader, Kobo Reader, Android smart phones, etc.

From the Publish screen, you can designate a percentage of your book that you want to make available as a free sample. Most authors choose between 15-30%. If you don't make a free sample available, your book will not be distributed to some important outlets.

How Smashwords Distributes Books: Smashwords distributes your book via two primary mechanisms: 1. Standard Catalog: This catalog contains all the books for sale at Smashwords.com. Sample distributors include Stanza on the iPhone, which is used by over 4 million people to discover and purchase ebooks; and Aldiko, an e-reading app for Google Android devices; and Word-Player, another e-reading app for Android devices. To qualify for distribution on Smashwords.com and in the Standard feed, an author or publisher is simply required to abide by the Smashwords Terms of Service and follow the instructions in this Guide. and follow the instructions in this Guide.

2. Premium Catalog: This catalog is distributed to major online retailers and other distribution outlets. There's no cost for inclusion, but your book must satisfy higher mechanical standards required by the retailers such as having a quality book cover image, good formatting, a proper copyright page, and other requirements clearly outlined in this Style Guide and on our Distribution page at This catalog is distributed to major online retailers and other distribution outlets. There's no cost for inclusion, but your book must satisfy higher mechanical standards required by the retailers such as having a quality book cover image, good formatting, a proper copyright page, and other requirements clearly outlined in this Style Guide and on our Distribution page at http://www.smashwords.com/distribution. If you're a serious author or publisher, you want your books included in Smashwords Premium Catalog because it offers your book unprecedented exposure at no cost. because it offers your book unprecedented exposure at no cost.

How Ebook Formatting is Different from Print Formatting.

Ebooks are different from print books, so do not attempt to make your ebook look like an exact facsimile of print book, otherwise you'll only frustrate yourself by creating a poorly formatted, unreadable ebook.

With print, you control the layout. The words appear on the printed page exactly where you want them to appear.

With ebooks, there is no "page." By giving up the control of the printed page, you and your readers gain much more in return.

Page numbers are irrelevant. Your book will look different on every e-reading device. Your text will shape shift and reflow. Most e-reading devices and e-reading applications allow your reader to customize the fonts, font sizes and line s.p.a.cing. Your customers will modify how your book looks on-screen to suit their personal reading preference and environment.

By transforming your books into digital form, you open up exciting possibilities for how readers can enjoy them.

At Smashwords, our motto is "your book, your way," and this means a reader should be able to consume your book however works best for them, even if that means they like to read 18 point Helvetica with blue fonts, lime background color, and triple s.p.a.ced lines. Many e-reading devices and e-reading apps support some or all of these strange strange different tastes. different tastes.

In order for us to prepare your words to be stirred up and reconst.i.tuted in this digital soup, it's important your Smashwords source file is formatted to liberate the words in digital form.

The book's formatting will be and must be different from its paper-based formatting and layout (for some works like poetry, the formatting is integral to the reading experience, and we can work with that too).

Most readers want your words, not your fancy page layout or exotic type styles. This is especially important for your ebook customers, because you want your work to display well on as many digital reading devices as possible so the reader can have their book their way. Some of your buyers may want to read on the Amazon Kindle, others want to read on the iPhone or Sony Reader. Others may want to just read it on screen using one of the several e-reading applications, such as Adobe Digital Editions or FBReader.

How We Convert Your Book into Multiple Ebook Formats.

This Style Guide helps authors and publishers tweak their original source files to obtain the best possible reading experience across multiple ebook formats and e-reading devices.

Print publishing companies spend millions of dollars each year to convert their print books into digital formats. It's a tough job, and often these conversions involve hiring hundreds of overseas cubicle laborers who painstakingly re-key and reformat texts into different formats.

At Smashwords, we operate differently. Our Meatgrinder technology automates the process. Because our process is automated, the book you publish on Smashwords may not be formatted as perfectly (or imperfectly - sometimes Meatgrinder actually improves the formatting) as you formatted it in your ma.n.u.script.

There are pros and cons to such automated conversions.

The advantage of this automation, especially if you carefully format your book to the Style Guide, is that Meatgrinder will allow you to instantly publish a good-quality, multi-format ebook, ready to be enjoyed on any e-reading device. This automation also allows us to offer this conversion and publishing service at no cost to you.

Meatgrinder does well with straight-form narrative, so we excel at fiction, narrative non-fiction, poetry and other books that are mostly words. Luckily, straight narrative comprises probably 75% of all books purchased by readers, and for most of the other 25%, with some proper tweaks and yes, compromises, flexibility and patience, many of these books can work as well.

Smashwords supports charts and images, but here we lack the precision of print on paper. With some Smashwords formats, page breaks will appear where you don't expect them. Images may not appear in the exact position you intended, or the print-quality image that looks great on glossy paper may not look so great on a black and white e-reading device, or a small cell phone. In other words, unpredictable things will happen. With patience, experimentation and an open mind, you can make it work. Remember, good quality is the goal, not perfection.

Some format outputs have limitations. For example, a picture book or manga that's all images is impossible to convert into plain text (it wouldn't be a picture book anymore!). Other books may look great in .RTF or PDF, but not so great on one of our online readers.

Meatgrinder has other limitations. It doesn't support tables or columns. It doesn't take full advantage of some of the capabilities of formats such as EPUB and .MOBI. We're aware of the limitations, and you should be too.

In the meantime, the benefits of such minor compromises outweigh the downside. By giving up a little, you gain a lot by making your book accessible to millions of potential readers across our ever-growing distribution network.

Some folks who read the paragraphs above come to the conclusion that Smashwords wants a plain text book without formatting. Not true! As you read on, you'll discover that Smashwords still gives you great control over formatting and styles.

We care about quality, and you should too. If you ever hear an author or reader complain that their Smashwords book looked like [insert your favorite expletive], consider it an admission the author didn't follow the Style Guide. Take the time to follow the guide. You've invested years possibly even a lifetime to write your masterpiece, so take 30 minutes or an hour to study the Guide and learn how easy it is to create a good-looking multi-format ebook you and your readers will be proud of.

The Three Secrets to Ebook Formatting: Keep it Simple, Keep it Simple, Keep it Simple!

The secret to ebook formatting success is "Keep it Simple!" Unnecessarily complex formatting or layout will hinder the readability of your ebook. If you attempt to make your ebook an exact facsimile of your print book, you will cause yourself and your readers unnecessary frustration. It may also cause your ebook conversions to fail.

Re-envision your book as free flowing text with only the essential formatting. Restrict your formatting to Normal paragraph style for the bulk of your book, one paragraph return at the end of each paragraph, proper first line paragraph indents (see tips below on how to create), italics, bolds, a Heading style only for your chapter headings, and very few if any additional paragraph styles beyond that.

Simple doesn't mean you can't use formatting, or you can't use styles. It just means that if your current formatting includes 15 or 30 different custom paragraph styles, you're asking for trouble.

How to Avoid AutoVetter Errors: AutoVetter is Smashwords' automated technology that inspects your book the moment you publish it and provides you instant feedback on potential formatting problems. You'll find your errors doc.u.mented in the Dashboard after you publish, underneath the "Premium Status" column. If the link reads, "requires modification," click the link.

AutoVetter is your friend.

If you receive AutoVetter errors, fix them immediately otherwise the errors will delay or prevent your book's acceptance into the Smashwords Premium Catalog. The moment AutoVetter tells you about the errors, you can fix them and then upload a new version via your Dashboard's "upload new version" link.

The following errors may prevent your book from gaining inclusion in the Premium Catalog: - more than 4 consecutive paragraph returns in a row (creates blank ebook pages) - tabs (eliminate all tabs, which you created by hitting the "Tab" key) - extra paragraph returns between paragraphs in an attempt to create a blank line - exotic fonts (instead, stick with Times New Roman, Garamond and Arial) - large font sizes (14pt is a recommended maximum, 11 or 12pt is better) - indents made with s.p.a.ce bar s.p.a.ces or tabs (the most common bad habit of all authors) - text in columns (we don't support columns) - text in tables (ebooks don't handle tables. Import tables as images) - text in text boxes (Ugh, the horror!) - multiple text or paragraph styles for your body (for example, don't mix Normal style with Body Text style) - automatic footnotes (not supported, may cause the conversion to fail) - text wrapped around floating images (instead, right mouse click on image, click Format Picture Format Picture: Advanced Advanced: Align with Text Align with Text, then use Word's center b.u.t.ton to center) - and finally, to avoid the copyright error, carefully follow tip 21b below

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Can you show me an example of a well-formatted book?

Yes! Check out Gerald Weinberg's Jigglers, which is a good formatting example.

Q: How long will it take for me to format my book for Smashwords?

This depends on your knowledge of Microsoft Word. The average author, if they take the time to carefully study and implement the Style Guide, can successfully complete their formatting in under two hours. Most Smashwords experts can complete a book in under one hour. Novels are easiest. If you decide to skip the Style Guide because you already have decades of experience in publishing, then you'll frustrate yourself and waste time. People with decades of print publishing experience tend to have the most trouble with Smashwords formatting, probably because Smashwords was created by someone (me!) without publishing experience who decided to create a faster, simpler approach to ebook publishing. Don't be discouraged by the length of this Guide. It has a lot of pictures to help guide even computer novices down the path to formatting success, and it'll save you money in the process. We created Smashwords so you shouldn't have to pay anyone a penny to publish with us. If you don't have the time, skills, or patience to follow the instructions, and you'd rather hire someone to help you, ask me for a referral to a low cost formatter on my private list (fellow Smashwords authors), who for probably $30 to $75 can probably make your life simpler and help you get in the Premium Catalog faster.

Q: Can you share time-saving tips?

Yes! You've already taken the first step, which is to read this Style Guide. It will save you a lot of time, prevent frustration and help you get your book distributed more quickly. Next, jump down to my Keyboard Shortcuts Keyboard Shortcuts if you want a quick refresher on some keyboard tricks that will save you time and reduce errors. Next, take a look at the sample files above. Next, use Microsoft Word. Although many Smashwords authors use other word processors, it's more difficult to do so because these other programs have a habit of introducing hidden anomalies into your file. if you want a quick refresher on some keyboard tricks that will save you time and reduce errors. Next, take a look at the sample files above. Next, use Microsoft Word. Although many Smashwords authors use other word processors, it's more difficult to do so because these other programs have a habit of introducing hidden anomalies into your file.

Q: What types of books work best on Smashwords?

Straight form narrative (all fiction and some non-fiction), biographies, memoirs, poetry, essays, narrative-heavy non-fiction, scripts, screenplays and plays. Yes, the book can contain images. Follow the instructions below.

Q: How many books will I sell?

Any book, ebook or print, is difficult to sell. Some Smashwords authors haven't sold a single book. Others have sold thousands. The latter group is not the norm, so you should keep your sales expectations modest. Read the Smashwords Book Marketing Guide to understand what we do to help you sell your book, and what you must do for yourself. You are responsible for writing a book that resonates with readers, and for marketing that book. Our responsibility is to help you get your book published and distributed. Approximately 80 percent of your sales will come from Smashwords' rapidly expanding network of ebook retailers, thus the urgency for you to follow the Style Guide so we can quickly distribute your book. All your sales originating at Smashwords.com, our small retail operation, will be reported instantly to you. Sales reporting from our retail partners is time-delayed. Learn more about how Smashwords royalties are calculated and paid by reading our to understand what we do to help you sell your book, and what you must do for yourself. You are responsible for writing a book that resonates with readers, and for marketing that book. Our responsibility is to help you get your book published and distributed. Approximately 80 percent of your sales will come from Smashwords' rapidly expanding network of ebook retailers, thus the urgency for you to follow the Style Guide so we can quickly distribute your book. All your sales originating at Smashwords.com, our small retail operation, will be reported instantly to you. Sales reporting from our retail partners is time-delayed. Learn more about how Smashwords royalties are calculated and paid by reading our Royalty FAQ.

Q: What types of books are most difficult to format for Smashwords?

The most challenging books at Smashwords include coffee table photo books, and books where the words are part of the image. If complex layout is essential to the enjoyment of your book, you'll need to reformat it to achieve readability as an ebook. Restrict formatting to paragraph returns at the end of every paragraph, indents, headings, and a little bold or italicized text here or there. With some special care, you can modify most types of books to work fairly well on Smashwords. If you cannot separate the complex formatting and layout from the content of your book, then consider restricting your ebook output formats on Smashwords to only PDF and RTF, because these formats will most closely match the form of your original Word file. The downside of restricting your book to PDF and RTF, however, is that you'll reduce the potential readership for book because EPUB is the most commonly distributed format at Smashwords.

Q: Can I upload a work in progress?

No. Smashwords is only for books that are complete and ready for public consumption.

Q: Can I upload only a sample chapter or two?

No. We only publish complete books. If your story doesn't represent a complete reading experience, you can't publish it at Smashwords, because our customers expect a complete story. However, when you upload your complete book, you can designate a certain percentage of the book, starting from the beginning, that you make available as a free sample.

Q: Can I upload public domain books?

Only if you are the original author.

Q: Can I upload "Private Label Rights" articles to Smashwords?

No, never. If you do this, we will delete your account without warning and you will forfeit all earnings.

Q: Do I put my book cover in the ma.n.u.script file?

Our EPUB and MOBI formats will automatically insert the cover image into your ebook file, though our PDF and RTFs will not. If you want the image in all formats, import it into the top of your Word file. Meatgrinder is programmed to strip the duplicate from its EPUB and MOBI versions, but if it misses the extra image, it's not the end of the world.

Q: Do you edit my book prior to publishing?

No. It is your responsibility to upload a completed, professionally written, edited and proofread book. Although Smashwords makes it easy to publish, your potential readers expect you to produce a quality, well-written professional work.

Q: How important is it that my book has been proofread and copy edited?

Extremely important! Don't publish your book at Smashwords until it has been thoroughly proofread for grammar, spelling and typos. One of the biggest criticisms leveled against self-published authors is that their work is not professional quality. Don't perpetuate this stereotype. Take pride in your work and invest the necessary effort to have others proofread and copyedit your book prior to publishing it on Smashwords or anywhere else. Your readers will thank you and your book will be more successful.

Q: Will Smashwords format my book to make it look perfect?

No. If we did that, our service would not be free. Our technology is completely automated. All file conversions are automated by our Meatgrinder file conversion system.

Q: Does Smashwords provide professional formatting and text design services?

No. Smashwords does not provide paid services of any kind. This guide provides guidance on how to prepare your book for quality ebook conversion through Meatgrinder. If you decide you require a.s.sistance, email me for my private list of fellow Smashwords authors who provide low cost formatting and cover design.

Q: I've already formatted my book perfectly into separate versions for PDF, Mobi and others. Can't I just upload my books and bypa.s.s the Meatgrinder?

No, sorry, we don't accept this, and for good reason. It's important that books come to us in a common format so we can ensure the files are virus-free, free of DRM, and free of strange permutations that could cause unexpected problems for our customers. One of our retailers, Sony, requires us to create a specially modified EPUB file for them, so this is another benefit of having Smashwords perform your conversion. We also need the file as a Word doc.u.ment so we can reliably convert it into all the different formats, as well as future formats. But don't fret; after you read this guide you'll realize it's easy to format your book for Smashwords! If you only have your ma.n.u.script in PDF form, read the section below, ent.i.tled, "Your Source File," for tips on how to get your PDF back into Word format.

Q: Will Smashwords one day allow authors and publishers to replace Smashwords-generated files with files generated by the author or publisher?

Eventually, yes. In the past, we've referred to this as the Meatgrinder Bypa.s.s. It's a planned feature, but the implementation of this feature has been delayed in favor of focusing on higher priority projects such as building out our distribution channels. The current thinking is that this feature will be rolled up in a new future service called Smashwords Direct.

Q: Can I use "drop caps" at the beginning of a paragraph or chapter?

A drop cap is the large initial capped letter you may see in the first paragraph of a chapter in a print book. A drop cap usually extends down three or four lines. You cannot use drop caps in Smashwords, so eliminate all usage of them. Some authors will make the first letter of the first paragraph of a chapter a larger font size, and bold. This is a great, attractive alternative.

Q: Will my finished Smashwords digital book look like my original print ma.n.u.script?